Posted by
SYF
from Twerkin' with Anastasia Ashley on 02/09/12 at 12:46 AM ET

From Jeff’s GDT:

Wings VS bottom dwellers…goalies not so hot….players that should step a notch (Hudler, Fil, Z, White)...problems in their zones…this game will help my team in the standing! The Wings will not win this one

Posted by MARIO from CHICAGO on 02/08/12 at 08:14 AM ET

Crow. Nice, big, fat, juicy crow.

Posted by
SYF
from Twerkin' with Anastasia Ashley on 02/09/12 at 01:59 AM ET

After another slow start, I thought DET played their asses off. Hard on the puck, hard on the boards, and I can’t remember the last time they took the puck to the net with such regularity. The 5-3 PK didn’t even give up a SOG (read that again). Great game. If the Wings put the puck in the 2 or 3 open nets, the score would have better reflected how they played.

I feel a bit dirty after that win. Like we got away with one we maybe shouldn’t have.

* After not pulling the trigger on this for YEARS now… I’m going to say it: We need to trade Hudler. Now. Not later. I can’t handle him blowing 3 or 5 golden chances for every 1 he maybe pots anymore… guy could be a 60-goal scorer if his head was on straight ever.

* Z hit someone last night. Hard. I don’t know the last time that happened.

* Mule went to the net. Repeatedly. Since he obviously reads us here, Hi Johan!

* The PP is still completely inept, and still taking dumb, low-percentage point shots. The longer this goes on, the less it falls on the assistants and moreon Babcock himself.

* The officiating last night was atrocious. And I’m not saying that from a bias/homer/one-sided standpoint. They displayed a fundamental lack of understanding for the game & rules of hockey. And apparently it wasn’t the only game that way… the NHL needs to do something about their officials.

* I friggin’ love Cory Emmerton. There’s not anything the kid won’t do. Even as recent as this past offseason, everyone was saying he probably didn’t have it in him to be an NHLer. Eff that…he’s going to be a reason why we can keep the younger kids an extra year or two in GR. You can’t teach hockey sense, and he has it in loads…

* I saw Fil get mad at someone on a shift last night and kinda’ chase him down, and play with ill-humor for the next shift or so. I liked it.

* Another fight. I got curious and went to hockeyfights.com to look it up. Did you know the Wings are no longer 30th in Fighting Majors? They are 28th as of yesterday (ahead of PHX and MTL), and I don’t know if that was before or after last night’s tilt. I want to see Abdelkader doing that dirty work, not a d-man (even if it is Commodore).

I missed the LB, but the final score was a poor indicator of the game. The wings had so many open nets and absolute domination for so much of the game, but they failed to shut the door. If I’m Babcock, I’m invoking the Alec Baldwin character from Glenngary Glennross. Coffee is for closers.

Ericsson has been a disappointment all season, but this had to have been his worst game. That’s saying a lot, I know. The first oil goal was because Errorsson was standing around looking slackjawed after Cleary was hit into the door. He’s pretty brainless. There’s no good reason (and about 3 million bad reasons) why he’s even on the ice. Brendan Smith should get his place. I wish they’d healthy scratch him a few times.

There’s no good reason (and about 3 million bad reasons) why he’s even on the ice. Brendan Smith should get his place. I wish they’d healthy scratch him a few times.

Posted by redxblack from Akron Ohio on 02/09/12 at 08:04 AM ET

Smith should play instead of Ericsson and Commodore. Always. Smith is already better than the both of them combined.

Honestly, I wonder if Babcock isn’t holding a grudge against Smith for getting suspended. I’ve wondered that for a while. Before the season all the talk was about how he was going to get good chances to show his stuff, then he got suspended… and Babcock has had no interest in him whatsoever since. There ha sbene no chance given him.

He’s apparently not one of “Babcock’s Guys” now, and we all know how THAT goes. We’ve seen that soap opera time and time again.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: wphoulihan@gmail.com